Hello everyone. I just landed in Lisbon, returning from the first project management forum in Saudi Arabia: The Global Project Management Forum GPMF. This week's podcast is an attempt to convey my thoughts on the "almost surreal" nature of the project management environment in the kingdom, mainly to those unable to attend it. Saudi Arabia is implementing a series of mega-projects (you can read it as Giga, Tera, Peta...) called "Vision 2030". The transformation involves every single aspect of society. It ranges from a massive development of housing to the liberation and promotion of tourism, from the digital government using artificial intelligence and big data in healthcare and administration to the NEOM mega-project, which aims to be a new model of sustainable living and prosperity. There are hundreds of billions of dollars at stake in these investments. Let me repeat: hundreds of billions of dollars, not dozens of billions! 😳 With thousands of professionals and some of the most influential people in the country, the goal was to put project management at the center of the skills needed to make this vision a reality. If you want an idea of these projects, go to NEOM.com and get a sense of what we're talking about. Finally, I want to thank Badr Burshaid بدر بورشيد for the invitation and hospitality. By thanking him, I am thanking all the volunteers that supported the event and the project management community in KSA. It was a fantastic chance for me to see how project management can be a force for good. Listen to this week's #5minpodcast in the link below. Have a great week with lots of great things to do. Ricardo Vargas. https://ricardo-vargas.com/podcasts/directly-from-the-global-project-management-forum-in-riyadh-saudi-arabia/ #projectmagement, #megaprojects, #transformation #GlobalProjectManagementForum #GPMF #المنتدىالعالمي لإدارة_المشاريع